


Comforting Embrace

by The_Muses_of_Mars



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Angst, M/M, Mildly Dubious Consent
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-30
Updated: 2017-07-30
Packaged: 2018-12-08 23:38:15
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,062
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11657061
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/The_Muses_of_Mars/pseuds/The_Muses_of_Mars
Summary: Noct's world is crumbling apart. He asks Ignis for some sexual healing. Ignis reluctantly agrees, hoping the prince doesn't discover how much he has secretly desired him all these years.





	Comforting Embrace

**Author's Note:**

> IgNoct Week Day 1, Prompt B: (Situational) Taking Care of Each Other

The drive to Lestallum was a somber one. Noct usually argued for driving privileges, but he had been brooding since finding out that his father had been killed and that the Crown City had fallen. He now sat silently in the back seat, his chin in his hand as his eyes gazed blindly at the scenery they passed. Noctis wasn’t the only one keeping quiet—Gladio, worried for his sister’s safety, kept anxiously checking the mileage on the odometer, while Prompto, for a change, wasn’t playing D.J. with the car stereo—but Noct was the only one Ignis was concerned about at the moment.

Prince Noctis was ordinarily a private young man, keeping his thoughts to himself and only speaking up when he had cause to complain, like when he was woken too early or when told to make healthier choices at meal times. But he had just suffered a tragic event, the worst kind any of them could imagine, and Ignis knew he had to be in pain. He felt he had to do something, especially since he had known Noct the longest and, he liked to think, best. But it would have been inappropriate to pry while in a crowded car, and it might have embarrassed or even angered the boy had Ignis pulled over to speak to him in private. So instead he waited until they reached the city.

 

Lestallum was a stark contrast to the dark cloud cast over them. The city was bustling and bright, filled with the sounds of laughter and conversation pouring forth from the marketplace. Street musicians performed for a bit of gil in a propped-open guitar case, tourists browsed gift shops for unique finds, and vendors hocked all manner of exotic foods and spices. But theirs was not a visit for pleasure, so the four men headed straight to the Leville, the four-star hotel where Gladio’s sister and a few other refugees from the palace were waiting.

The afternoon was harrowing. Iris filled them in on the details of the Empire’s attack, how the peace talks had been nothing but a ruse to murder the royal family and steal Insomnia’s magic crystal. Fortunately, their enemies had not known that Prince Noctis was not still within the city walls, nor that King Regis—before his murder—had bestowed the crystal’s key, the Ring of the Lucii, unto Princess Lunafreya of Tenebrae.

Throughout the discussion, Ignis kept a watchful eye on the prince. He could see the way the boy trembled with emotion, his rage and regret barely controlled. When Iris recounted the battle that had claimed the king’s life, and he saw the tears welling in Noctis’s eyes, the royal advisor called for a break.

“It has been a very long day, and we had a considerable drive to bring us here,” Ignis excused without calling Noct out specifically. He rose from his arm chair. “Let us call it a night and we can discuss our options in the morning.”

“Yeah. No argument here,” Gladio agreed, giving a stretch. “I’m not used to being cooped up all day. I’m ready to stretch out on a soft mattress.”

“Why don’t you stay here with me?” Iris suggested to her older brother. “There are two beds in my room, and I really don’t want to be alone right now.”

Gladio nodded his assent.

“Talcott and Jared have their own room,” Iris explained to the rest of them.

Prompto looked at Noct, who wouldn’t meet his eyes, then at Ignis. “I guess it’s the three of us, then?”

“I wanna be alone,” Noct countered, though his head was still turned away.

“But—” Prompto started to argue, when Ignis cut him off.

“Then it’s settled,” the bespectacled tactician announced. “I’ll head down to the lobby and get us checked in, and be back with the room keys momentarily.”

Gladio almost disagreed. He knew they shouldn’t leave the prince alone. And Ignis knew that, too, but he knew Noct well, so he must have his reason for going along with the setup.

 

Ignis did as promised and checked them into two additional rooms, then returned to Iris’s and Gladio’s room with the keys. Noctis immediately demanded his, took it, and then picked up his black duffel bag and left without so much as a “goodnight.”

After saying goodbye to the Amicitia siblings, Prompto followed Ignis out into the hallway from which Noct had already disappeared. He shuffled after the taller man as Ignis led the way to their room. “It’s small,” he noticed when they entered. Iris’s room had been large, with a living room and kitchenette in addition to the bathroom and bedroom. Theirs was so small they barely had space to walk around the two small beds to unload their luggage.

“I apologize,” Ignis said as he snapped open the latches on his suitcase. “I assumed we’d be going right to sleep and leaving first thing in the morning.”

“No, it’s fine,” Prompto sighed, rubbing his eyes sleepily. “You’re right. I think I’ll get a quick shower and then hit the hay.”

“Good idea,” Ignis agreed. “Just let me brush my teeth, then it’s all yours.” Prompto nodded, so Ignis took his toothbrush and a tube of toothpaste into the bathroom and closed the door.

With the tiny room all to himself, Ignis turned on the cold water tap on the sink and took off his glasses so he could wash his face. He felt drained, but he knew they were all tired and hurting—just not as badly as Noct must be. His immediate plan was to go and check on the prince, once the boy had had a few moments alone to process what had happened. But the thought of Noct alone in the dark, tears staining his pillow, made Ignis’s chest ache. He had to hurry.

Once he’d taken care of everything he needed to before bed, Ignis handed charge of the bathroom over to Prompto. The blond boy was known for loudly singing in the shower, but tonight the only sound coming from the other room was the rush of water. It was no accident Ignis had failed to explain his intentions to the boy; Prompto would likely have wanted to go with him to check on Noct, and Ignis knew that one person was already more than the prince had asked for. He didn’t doubt Noct would let _him_ in, but if he were towing Prompto along, the outcome might be quite different.

A copy of his room key in the pocket of his trousers and the case for his glasses in the breast pocket of his shirt, Ignis quietly ventured out into the hall and made for the prince’s room.

Noct’s room was a single-occupancy on the other side of Iris’s, so Ignis had to walk past hers and Gladio’s room again to find it. He remembered the room number and found it was the last door on the left side of the hall. He adjusted his glasses, took a breath, and knocked.

His tap had been gentle, patient and unhurried. He didn’t want Noctis to feel pressured. He had already told himself he would not knock again, and very nearly turned to leave, when he finally heard the prince call out in a strained voice, “Who is it?”

Ignis leaned toward the door and answered quietly, “It’s only me, Noct.” He paused, then added, “I came alone.”

After a moment he heard a shuffle and a sniffle, then leaned back and stepped away from the door so the boy wouldn’t feel intimidated when he finally opened it.

Standing there in a rumpled T-shirt, the whites of his eyes stained pink, Noct looked pitiful. Ignis tried not to stare or to let his eyes stray from the boy’s gaze. He didn’t want him to feel judged for crying when he’d suffered so much loss. So instead Ignis simply asked, “May I come in?”

It looked as though Noct might refuse. He clearly wanted to—or felt he should. But Ignis was his closest confidant, and in spite of what he had said, Noctis did not want to be alone. So after a minute the prince turned his back to the hallway and retreated to his bed.

Ignis followed and closed the door behind him, locking it securely. The room was, as he’d imagined, completely dark. Noct hadn’t turned on any lights and the curtains were drawn tightly closed. The prince had dropped his bag carelessly beside the door, along with his jacket, and climbed right into bed, which was where he sat now. Normally Ignis would have reproached him for so many things—leaving his jacket on the floor, not bathing, wearing his shoes in bed—but this wasn’t the time. Instead he joined the younger boy, sitting close to him on the bed. At first he said nothing; it was enough just to be there.

Noct hugged his knees to his chest and sobbed openly. Although he was touched the prince felt so comfortable with him, Ignis’s heart broke for the boy. “Noct,” he murmured softly. He had never seen him like this, so he wasn’t sure what he needed. He just wanted him to know: “I’m here for you.”

“I’m glad,” Noctis admitted, closing his eyes and hastily wiping at his cheeks. “I thought I wanted to be alone, but then I—I just _felt_ so alone, I—”

Ignis reached up and gently took hold of the prince’s shoulder.

“I don’t want to be alone,” Noct choked hoarsely.

“You aren’t,” Ignis swore to him.

“No, I—” Noct swallowed, looking at Ignis now with eyes that glittered with tears. “I mean, I…I don’t want to be _alone_ tonight.”

“Look,” Ignis demonstrated, plucking his glasses case from his chest pocket to show to Noct. “I’m not going anywhere tonight, I promise. I’m staying with you.”

“Ignis, how could this happen? Why can’t I wake up?” Noct was crying harder.

Ignis set the case aside and wound his arms around the boy’s shoulders. He didn’t say it in so many words, but as he drew Noct closer, he offered him his own shoulder to cry on.

And he did. Noct wrapped his arms around Ignis’s waist and squeezed hard, muffling his cries against the other man’s neck as he wept bitterly.

The whole while, Ignis caressed Noctis’s back to soothe him, as he had done when they were very small children and Noct had been teased or bullied or upset for any reason. He had always taken it upon himself to comfort the prince. He was the one Noct seemed to need, the only one who could get through to him and ease his pain. He doubted Noct knew how much Ignis needed him, too.

After what felt like hours, when the boy’s sobs were finally beginning to subside and he thought Noct might fall asleep, Ignis tried to gently lay him back on the bed; but Noctis clung to him, his lips finding the bare skin of Ignis’s jaw.

“…Noct—” Ignis felt he had to protest, regardless of what he truly wanted.

“Ignis, please.” Noct’s voice was soft as a whisper, and he was grasping at Ignis. “I just want… I just need…”

Ignis understood. He just wanted to make certain he was the one Noct wanted.

He held the boy at arm’s length, gripping him firmly by the shoulders as he stared into his eyes. “Noct… Are you quite sure?”

Noct met his gaze evenly and nodded with certainty.

“…Very well.”

The lights were off, so there was nothing else keeping them apart but their clothes. Ignis quickly unbuttoned his shirt, then untucked it from his slacks as he stood up from the bed. He felt around for his glasses case again, then removed his spectacles and tucked them safely into it before setting the case down on a nightstand he could just barely make out in the darkness. Then he leaned down and helped Noct peel off his wrinkled T-shirt.

Noct dropped his shirt over the side of the bed carelessly. Ignis reached down to unlace the boy’s boots, then pulled them gently from the prince’s feet, one at a time, and set them on the floor at the foot of the bed where they wouldn’t be likely to trip on them. He could hear Noctis’s ragged breaths and tried focusing on the sound alone to excite him; thinking about the fact that Noct had been crying himself breathless only moments before would do nothing for his arousal, and clearly the boy needed a tender touch tonight.

Ignis brushed his suspenders over his shoulders and hung his shirt on the back of the chair seated at the empty desk, then stepped out of his own shoes before going for his zipper.

“Slower,” Noct requested, his voice husky.

“Yes, Highness.” Ignis left his trousers intact and climbed onto the bed, crawling between the prince’s legs as Noctis spread them. He could sense Noct searching for him in the dark, but Ignis intended to do all the work tonight, so he entwined his fingers with the prince’s, pinning the boy’s arms over his head as he leaned down to kiss his bare chest.

Noct gasped with pleasured surprise, gooseflesh prickling his skin at the sensation of Ignis’s lips upon him. He struggled mildly, just for the enjoyment of it, without any genuine attempt to break free of the light pressure Ignis applied to his hands to keep them held down.

Ignis had never even dreamed he would be with Noct like this. He didn’t think about what tomorrow might bring—whether it be gratitude or regret—and instead focused all his attention on relaxing and pleasing the boy. His prince needed the comfort of another’s embrace; Ignis’s own feelings about the act were irrelevant. He distanced himself from the situation emotionally and instead put his effort into easing Noct’s mental anguish with physical pleasure. Another distraught young man might have soothed his ache with liquor or worse; if Noctis could take comfort in lovemaking, then Ignis would gladly be the one to help ease his pain, even if he must disregard his own.

Noctis squirmed his lithe body in sensual motions. Ignis bent his head over the prince’s chest and covered his breasts in deep, moist kisses that left the boy panting. Noct seemed to enjoy it, so Ignis went a step farther, parting his lips to glide his tongue along the definitions of the boy’s soft curves. Then, finally, his mouth closed over one of the prince’s nipples as he suckled it to hardness. Noctis moaned, his head thrown back and his eyes closed as his back arched with pleasure. He had asked Ignis for something intimate tonight, and it was clear the older man was taking that request seriously.

Ignis trailed what felt like hungry kisses from one of Noct’s nipples to the other. When both nubs were excited, he left one hand to continue pinning the boy’s wrists to the bed while his other worked at the prince’s zipper. Noct gasped, his hips arching from the mattress eagerly. Ignis cupped him and squeezed, gently fondling him through the coarse fabric of his jeans until the prince begged, “Please…”

Ignis had no intention of drawing this out any more than was necessary, for both their sakes. Noct was finished with foreplay and ready to get on with it, so Ignis let go of his arms and unzipped the boy’s jeans, reaching for the waist of his pants to draw them down. Noct struggled to sit up to help, but Ignis pressed a hand against his chest to force him to lie back down. “Leave it to me,” he said in a gently commanding voice, and with a deep sigh, Noct did.

Ignis slid the boy’s jeans down his legs and dragged them off, then settled down between his knees. Noct’s fingers grasped the comforter beneath his naked body as if to brace himself for what was to come. But Ignis had no intention of hurting him, and besides, they had no condoms. “Relax, Highness,” he quietly soothed, caressing a slender thigh. “Allow me.”

Noct was hard. Ignis could just make out the shape of him in the darkness, and found himself equally relieved and disappointed he could not see more clearly. He warned himself against enjoying this too much; it wouldn’t be the first time he’d had a dick in his mouth, so he could just remember someone else and pretend this time it wasn’t Noct’s.

He was in love with the boy—madly. He had long quelled his desire by admiring the prince from afar, but when Noct’s engagement to Princess Lunafreya had been officially announced, he had felt a crushing pain he thought might kill him. This was worse.

Ignis had only just parted his lips when Noct wrapped his hand around his cock, eagerly aiming it toward Ignis’s mouth. The advisor allowed his prince to feed himself to him, closing his eyes and cursing his heart for pounding so wildly. He tried to tell himself it wasn’t Noct, over and over again. But the moment his lips closed around the head of the younger man’s erection, Noct released a beautiful groan that was undeniably his own. There was no mistaking that voice.

Ignis swallowed with Noctis’s cock in his mouth, partly out of nervousness. As the flat of his tongue pressed against the boy’s hot flesh, tasting his musk, the blond purposefully salivated. His wet warmth coated Noct as he stroked his tongue alongside the length held between his lips, eliciting a low moan from the prince that Ignis had to fight not to echo.

Noctis was breathing hard, soft sounds of pleasure escaping with every exhalation as Ignis explored him with his tongue. The blond clutched at the bedspread beneath them as if to anchor himself, but his emotions were rioting. He could feel Noct’s hands in his hair, gently combing it back from his eyes, and winced. Why did the prince have to be so tender? Couldn’t he just fuck his mouth and come quickly? Must he draw out this anguish?

The boy began massaging Ignis’s scalp as the advisor continued his tentative ministrations. Ignis knew he should urge Noct along, not feel him out and memorize every line, curve, and vein of his manhood. But if this was his only chance to know Noct this way, how could he not take it?

Because it was a selfish thing to do, he thought, angry with himself. Because the boy was hurting and just needed a little affection and company tonight. It didn’t mean anything more than that, and to even consider the possibility would only cause him further heartache.

Ignis squeezed his eyes tightly shut, crawling closer to Noctis’s lap and angling his chin so he could take him deeper. As his head rose and fell over the prince’s cock, Noct’s fingers tightened in his hair. He could feel the boy’s legs tensing against the outsides of his own as his excitement mounted, and within moments the prince’s hips began arching off the bed to force his cock down Ignis’s throat. The blond’s tongue rubbed roughly at the shaft of Noctis’s dick, stroking the tender flesh as his lips tightened their seal around it. The sounds the prince made were steadily increasing in volume and pitch as his arousal heightened, until his fingers were pulling at the blond’s hair and Ignis felt his own cock straining against the confines of his slacks.

“Ignis,” Noct groaned. Ignis tried not to whimper in response, but he was aroused and he had never heard anything so beautiful as his name on the prince’s lips while he was being pleasured. “Ignis,” Noct said again, this time more demandingly. He was no longer clutching Ignis’s head to his lap, but pushing him away by the shoulders.

Ignis let the prince’s dick fall from between his lips with an involuntary moan of protest that both shocked and embarrassed him.

He didn’t have time to dwell on it, or to wonder why they had stopped, because Noct had a request. “Can you finish undressing?”

“…Y-yes, Highness,” the older man panted, his face warm and flushed from more than just his exertions. As he turned onto his side and unzipped his trousers, he felt Noctis move away from him on the bed, presumably to give him some room. The advisor hissed even though he tried to be careful and keep the fabric of his slacks and underwear from rubbing against his erection, but he was impossibly hard and already dampening from his excitement over being with Noct. He was ashamed, but he couldn’t have stopped now if he’d wanted to.

Unsure of what Noctis had in mind, Ignis let his pants drop from the edge of the bed to the floor. But when he caught sight of the boy next to him, he found Noct on his hands and knees, facing him. Noct crawled closer, then the prince was on him, urging him to roll onto his stomach.

“Highness! N-Noct—”

“Shh, shh…” Noct tried to silence him, his hands on Ignis’s hips as he forced him to turn over.

Ignis’s eyes widened. The boy was stronger than his slight frame implied, and the blond found himself unable to wrest free as he was shoved face-down onto the mattress. “No, not this way! Highness—!”

“Relax,” Noct ordered, sounding breathless still. He tried placating his friend. “I’ll be gentle…” He placed a hand flat between Ignis’s shoulder blades, bearing down his full weight. The wet sucking sounds Ignis heard suggested Noct’s free hand was in his mouth.

He couldn’t let the prince do this. If he did, Ignis would never get him out of his head.

“Noctis, please! Please, please don’t…”

“It’ll be fine,” Noct soothed. “Please, Ignis,” he pleaded in return. “I need you tonight.”

Ignis’s emerald eyes brimmed with unshed tears. “You don’t know what you’re asking,” he whispered in a strained voice. But he could feel his will to resist crumbling. He would regret this night forever, but Noct was begging him for something he wanted so desperately to give him, and he didn’t know how much longer he could refuse.

Noct’s hand slipped between them as he let his chest rest against Ignis’s strong back, holding his shoulder gently now instead of roughly pinning him down. “I would never hurt you,” he whispered into Ignis’s ear. Then his fingers began roaming between the other man’s cheeks, brushing lightly over his opening a time or two before settling on stroking that spot. Ignis was trembling beneath him, so he showered his upper back in soft, lingering kisses meant to relax him.

But Ignis was terribly tense. He had never wanted anything more than this, but knew it was wrong. They still awaited word on whether or not Noct’s fiancée was still alive. He was the prince’s guardian. Noct was in a vulnerable place, and regardless of who was on top in this situation, Ignis felt he was the one taking advantage of it.

“H-Highness,” the advisor panted, making one final attempt to stop this before it went too far. But then Noctis’s fingers were pushing inside him, and he could only arch his back with a weak, wanton cry.

Noct’s mouth moved over the back of Ignis’s neck and his shoulder, the boy’s breath hot and his kisses moist. Ignis gritted his teeth and clenched his hands into fistfuls of the material of the bedding as he struggled to contain his emotions. It was impossible to think, or to refrain from audible sounds of pleasure, when the prince was touching him so intimately, stretching his opening—as if it needed any coaxing. Noctis was panting, too, his slim hips writhing rhythmically as he rubbed himself against the back of Ignis’s thigh.

That sinful touch set Ignis ablaze. The flames burned throughout his body, spreading like a wildfire. He couldn’t stop now; this was all his heart had ever desired. He felt Noctis moving behind him, crawling between his legs, and instead of resisting, he grasped for a pillow to hug to his chest.

Noct kissed his shoulder blade one last time, then drew back. His fingers pulled out of Ignis’s body, and a moment later the blond felt something else pressed to his backside. His hips rose from the bed of their own accord as he tried and failed to suppress a pleading whimper that quickly progressed into a groan of pleasure as Noct penetrated him with his cock.

Ignis gritted his teeth as Noct’s hips slowly drew closer as he forced himself deeper inside him. The first push of the head had filled him with an agonized sort of pleasure. It was a good pain, his moan couldn’t deny. Afterward he could feel the prince’s body trembling with the strain of entering him slowly. Noct was holding back, giving Ignis’s body a moment to adjust to another inside it. But the wait was torture, and Ignis couldn’t help squirming in encouragement.

Noctis held Ignis’s shoulders and caressed along his biceps as he began to make love to him. For a while there was no sound but their heavy breaths as they synced into a rhythm, Noct’s hips slowly rocking against Ignis’s ass while the blond spread his legs wider, his body hungrily devouring the prince’s with every thrust.

He had never intended for this to happen, but for once Ignis was powerless to control himself. If Noct hadn’t been so insistent, hadn’t been in such pain, he could have better resisted the temptation to give in. But Noct craved intimacy, and Ignis couldn’t bear the thought of anyone else taking care of that need in his stead.

“Ignis…” Noct breathed his name softly against his back, and Ignis squeezed his eyes tightly shut. What was he doing? He was fantasizing the prince really wanted him—not just as a coincidental partner for tonight, but him, specifically. And that was dangerous to his heart.

One of the prince’s hands slid from his shoulder, trailing along his side down to his hip, where it took a gentle hold. Noct began to thrust faster, harder. He drove himself deeply into Ignis, pounding relentlessly against a place inside that ached. Ignis pressed his face to the pillow clutched to his chest and tried to muffle a loud moan. Gladio and Iris were just on the other side of the wall; he did not want them to hear what was happening in the prince’s hotel room tonight.

“Let me hear you,” Noct protested, panting hard. His second hand moved down to Ignis’s other hip, his grip tightening as he rode him harder.

Ignis turned his head so his lips were no longer pressed to the pillow, yet he tried his best to contain himself. He choked back his cries and swallowed his moans, but every attempt only made him sound more desperate. He couldn’t help it; the boy he had long loved was inside him, and it was the sweetest ecstasy he had ever known.

Noct’s grunts melted into beautiful purrs of pleasure as he neared climax. A hand left Ignis’s hip, slipping between their bodies and the mattress as he sought out his lover’s length. Ignis had been content to hump the bedspread; what mattered was that Noctis was inside him. But now the prince took the older man in hand and gave him an eager squeeze, and Ignis shuddered in pleasure at the unexpected touch. Noctis began stroking him quickly, even while he continued taking him from behind, overwhelming the blond with sensations. Now the prince’s name was on Ignis’s lips, in a whisper almost too faint to be heard.

Feeling the way Noctis bucked wildly against his ass, it was all Ignis could do to press the back of his hand against his mouth to soften his own frenzied cries. Noct’s grip on his dick was firm, pumping steadily as he urged Ignis to come. And, though he tried to resist, never wanting tonight to end, Ignis felt himself slipping over the edge.

“Come on, Iggy,” Noct panted heavily. His hips slammed hard against his partner’s ass again and again as he drove himself into him. “Let’s come together.”

Ignis’s eyes teared with pleasure at the friction of Noct’s body inside his. Noctis’s precum had slicked his passage just as his own had slicked the boy’s hand. The prince’s order was so arousing he could not hold back, and with a cry he could not even try to contain, Ignis came hard in Noct’s hand.

Ignis’s orgasm was the permission Noct had been waiting for. With a final push and a loud moan of his own, Noctis came inside Ignis. He felt his own seed coat his dick as he spasmed against Ignis, fluid dribbling from his lover’s opening as he continued to thrust and wring out every ounce of his pleasure.

All too quickly it was over, and Ignis went very still and quiet. Noct released his hold on the other man’s cock and cupped his cheeks, massaging the muscles gently for a moment before spreading them apart to help ease himself out of his lover’s body. Noct sighed with satisfaction, rolling onto his back beside the blond with his swollen flesh finally coming to rest against his thigh.

Only when the prince’s panting had slowed, his breaths deepening as with sleep, did Ignis dare to move. He very slowly turned onto his side then sat up, wincing as he swung his legs over the side of the bed. He waited until the room stopped spinning before he dared to stand, forgoing the retrieval of his glasses as he took very small, somewhat pained steps towards the bathroom.

Once inside, Ignis closed the bathroom door nearly completely. He left it open just a crack so he could hear if Noct called out for him for any reason. He had been certain the boy was asleep now but if he woke he might be afraid to find himself suddenly alone.

Ignis turned on the light and immediately squinted in the brightness that flooded the small room. With blurry vision he sought out the handle for the shower door, sliding the glass panel aside before he stepped into the stall and reached for the tap.

Within seconds the steam had fogged up the glass and hot water was beating down on Ignis’s already flushed skin. He stood under the spray with his eyes closed and his hands braced against the cool tiles of the stall. He wasn’t the type of man to go rushing to the shower right after sex, but this time—after being with Noctis—he needed some time alone. If Noct had belonged to him, had been his for the taking, he would have savored the afterglow. He would have wrapped his arms and legs around the boy and held him tightly for the rest of the night. But Noct wasn’t his lover; he was his lord and liege, and he’d had no right to indulge in his fantasies with his future king.

Feeling guilt-ridden and rife with shame, Ignis hung his head and released the sob he’d been holding back since the first touch. He would never forgive himself for his weakness. Deep in his heart he knew he had ruined everything. Noct would never trust him again, and gods forbid Prompto and Gladio should ever find out about this. There was only one thing to do: he would resign his position as chamberlain and find some way to work on the prince’s behalf from a distance. He had no right to remain at his side after his disgraceful behavior.

So consumed by remorse and shame, Ignis did not hear the bathroom door open. He jumped in surprise when the shower door slid open, quickly running a damp hand over his tear-streaked face to mask his upset. Noct didn’t need to know how deeply he regretted giving in to his base desires; he only needed to know how sorry he was, and Ignis was determined to make a formal apology before leaving. But he wasn’t yet prepared to do it.

“…Ignis?” The boy touched his shoulder.

“Oh—Highness.” Slowly, Ignis turned to face his prince. He played coy. “I didn’t hear you come in.”

Noct’s voice was filled with concern as he stepped into the shower stall with Ignis and slid the glass pane shut again. “Ignis, are you crying?”

His cheeks flushing with embarrassment, Ignis made up an excuse for the redness in his eyes. “Er—the light is a bit bright in here is all.”

Noct’s arms wound carefully around Ignis’s shoulders. “Are you…all right?” the boy asked delicately. “Did I…hurt you?”

Ignis forced himself to smile. “Of course not,” he said softly, but his voice broke and Noct knew it was a lie.

“Then is it because… Did you…not want me?” Now Noctis sounded pained. “Ignis… Oh, Ignis, I don’t know what to say.” He dropped his arms from around Ignis’s neck and took a step back. “I swear, I would never have done it if I thought you weren’t interested in me. Was I wrong about that? I thought you—” He broke off and bit his lower lip nervously.

“…No,” Ignis confessed at last, his chest tight. “You weren’t wrong, Noct.”

“Then what is it?” Noctis tentatively reached out and touched Ignis’s hips. “Was it…bad?” The prince swallowed with embarrassment. “Did you want to be on top? It wasn’t your first time, was it?”

“Noct…” Ignis lightly took hold of the boy’s shoulders. The prince sounded as insecure as he himself had been feeling. “You were perfect—better than I had ever imagined.”

Noct’s expression eased into a smile.

“I just…” Ignis paused and licked his lips. He was nervous to proceed. But he’d already come this far. “So…you knew I had feelings for you before we slept together?”

The prince nodded sheepishly. “Is that what this is about?” His arms wrapped around Ignis’s waist and he moved closer. “Are you just embarrassed?”

“I’m…concerned,” Ignis managed after struggling to find the word. “Ashamed” was closer to the truth, but to admit it would be an insult to His Highness. “You are the Crown Prince of Lucis.” His hands lowered to the boy’s elbows, his touch so faint it seemed he might let go at any moment. “I am but a servant to the royal family. And you are so beautiful… What right have I to desire your love, especially when you are betrothed to another?”

“Don’t I have some say in that?” Noctis challenged him. “Nobody asked me if I wanted to get married. And that fucking peace treaty was all bullshit, anyway.”

Ignis was only slightly taken aback by the prince’s sudden vehemence, but this was too important a matter to interrupt him. After all, his sole purpose for coming here tonight was to let the boy vent his frustration and grief over his father’s murder and his kingdom’s collapse. He had just never considered that Noct might be equally upset about the arranged marriage that had come with the proffer of peace from Niflheim.

“For the record, I did _not_ want to get married.” Noct was staring up at him intensely. “I’d hoped you would finally say something. I wanted you to be as angry as I was. But you just went along with everything instead of telling me how you felt. So I tried to do the same. But none of that matters now, right? Now we can just be honest. Nothing’s holding us back.”

“Noct… What are you saying?” Ignis’s heart was pounding so loud he was afraid he wouldn’t be able to hear Noct’s answer over the sound of the shower water gushing down on them.

Noct looked up into the taller man’s emerald eyes. His heart wrenched to see them swimming in tears. He had never adored him more. “Ignis, I love you. I have _always_ loved you.”

Ignis bowed his head and closed his eyes. He felt Noct caress his back and draw him nearer and opened them again. Now the tears that filled them were happy ones.

Their lips touched at last in a passionate kiss—their very first.


End file.
